Last Ounce of Courage
by pandorabox82
Summary: Something has gone terribly wrong with the time stream, and it is up to the Doctor and Clara to right it. But will Erin Strauss be that receptive to their particular brand of protection?


"That's odd." Clara looked up from the book she was reading and turned her head so that she could see the Doctor's face.

"What's odd?" she asked, setting the book aside and coming up to his side.

"There's a new blip in the time stream that shouldn't be here. Someone's altered time and space in a way that…" His voice trailed off as he began to look for where the error had occurred, and she shook her head.

"Maybe it's nothing."

"Or maybe, as a result, The Silence descends upon the Earth and wipes out humanity." That shut her up and she nodded, resting her hand on his upper arm. "We need to go fix this, and soon. I just wish I knew what happened." He continued to look through the data and Clara sighed, going back to her book.

As time passed, the Doctor seemed to get a better handle on who they were trying to save, and she smiled a little at the way he did a little dance upon figuring it out. "Where are we headed to this time?"

"Back to New York City. I haven't been there since…" His voice trailed off, and Clara knew in an instant that he was thinking of, and she smiled sadly. Setting her book aside once more, she came up and wrapped her arm around his waist.

"It's okay to miss them, you know."

He shrugged and plugged in the coordinates for their destination. When they did touch down, she was surprised to find them in a dark alley and she looked up at him questioningly. "We have to find Erin Strauss. According to my data, she should be returning to this hotel shortly."

"And what, exactly, are we going to be doing?" she asked.

"Making sure she doesn't die tonight. That's what went wrong with the time stream. She was never meant to die, the love of her life was supposed to get to her in time. Her death is the catalyst for the Silence descending, and I'm not about to let that happen."

Clara nodded and followed him into the hotel. There were a few sofas arranged so that one could watch the doors, and he led her over to them, picking up a map of the city from a nearby rack and pretending to peruse it. "How long will we have to wait?"

"I'm not certain. You should know by now how time works, Clara." She nodded and sighed, wishing she had thought to grab her book before they had exited the TARDIS. She settled for going over and grabbing some of the pamphlets, reading through them as the Doctor watched the door.

Finally, two women entered, a blonde and a brunette, like her. "I'll be fine from here, Alex. Thank you."

"Are you sure, Erin? We have no idea who the Replicator is, and Rossi would never forgive me if something were to happen to you in the short time it takes to get from the lobby to your room."

"Where is this concern for me coming from, Alex? I know you aren't my strongest supporter."

Clara watched the brunette, Alex, reach out and rest her hand on Erin's upper arm. "I've been stubborn. James showed me just how much. I'm sorry I didn't accept your amends sooner." Clara could hear the honesty in the woman's voice, and she wondered how this Erin would react.

"Yes, well, that's water under the bridge. When we get back home, and have caught the Replicator, perhaps we could go out for coffee?"

Alex smiled warmly at Erin as she nodded. "That would be really lovely, Erin." And then she did something that surprised Clara. Alex reached out and hugged Erin quickly before ducking back out the door. As Erin shook her head, Clara noticed a decidedly odd figure watching the women, anger and madness written all over his face.

"That's who we have to save her from, isn't it?" she whispered to the Doctor, nodding her head in the man's general direction.

The Doctor nodded and she stood up, quickly making her way over to the blonde. "Excuse me, but my husband and I are rather lost. This is our first time in New York, and we are looking for a particular restaurant. Would you have time to help us locate it?"

A small flash of annoyance passed over Erin's face, but she nodded anyway, and Clara smiled warmly at her as she lead her over to where the Doctor was. "And just where are you looking to be?" she asked, looking towards the door.

"Expecting someone?"

"Sort of. He had to stay behind for a few minutes. Could we make this quick?"

"I'll try. Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves, I'm terribly sorry. I'm Doctor Jack Harkness, and this is my wife, Clara. It's a pleasure to meet you…"

"Erin, Erin Strauss."

She gently shook the Doctor's hand, and Clara rolled her eyes a little at him as he shrugged. "Say, why don't we do this over a drink? I'm sure there's a bar in the hotel."

"There is, but I don't drink."

"Neither do I, but ginger ale sounds mighty good right about now."

Erin gave one last look towards the door, and as Clara followed her eyeline, she couldn't help but notice that the man that had been watching them earlier was now gone. She suppressed a shiver and smiled at Erin, nodding at her. "I suppose I could drink one glass of ginger ale. But what if I miss David?"

"I'll tell the desk clerk that you're with us in the bar. She can direct him there," Clara found herself saying and Erin relaxed a little, her face softening into a smile. She nodded and accepted the arm that the Doctor held out to her, letting him guide her away. Clara went over to the front desk, waiting for the woman to notice her.

"May I help you?" she finally asked, meeting Clara's eye.

"Yes, my husband and I are talking with one of the women who has a room here, Erin Strauss?" The clerk nodded. "Well, her other half, David, is supposed to meet her up in her room, so when he comes, point him in the direction of the bar, all right, luv?"

The clerk nodded once more and Clara smiled before turning and making her way to the bar. She found that the Doctor had ensconced Erin in a secluded horseshoe shaped booth, and she shook her head a little at his cautiousness. She slid in next to Erin, boxing her in, and looked around at her surroundings. "Did you get me a glass, too?"

"Yes, sweetie, I did." Once more, she rolled her eyes as she locked gazes with the same man from earlier. Narrowing her eyes, she looked back to the Doctor and nodded. He understood what she meant and scooted closer to Erin. "Did you tell the clerk?"

"Oh yes, I just hope that she remembers to send him our way. Now, about that restaurant. A friend of our told us that we simply must eat at Tavern on the Green whilst we're here. And we've had no luck in finding it."

Erin clucked her tongue in sympathy. "How long has it been since your friend was over here? They closed that restaurant ages ago. And besides, they wouldn't have been open this late at night, anyway."

"Well, can you think of another place that we should try out? We are rather hungry."

"Well, tonight wouldn't be a good night to try anything, it's so late. Are you still here tomorrow?" Erin asked as the waitress came over with their glasses. One had a bright red umbrella in it, and Clara immediately reached for that one.

"No, that's not yours. That's for Blondie here. A gentleman at the bar wanted me to give this one to her specifically. I think his number is on the napkin underneath." The waitress frowned, sliding the glass towards Erin. She nodded sharply at the Doctor and he stretched out his arms, knocking the glass off the table, the liquid splashing all over the waitress.

"Oh, I'm ever so sorry. I have this nervous tick, you see," he stammered, trying to mop up some of the drink.

"Get out. Now." The woman was angry and they all nodded, quickly slipping out of the booth.

"Why did you do that?" Erin asked once they were by the elevators. "This wasn't a random meeting, was it?"

"Clever one, aren't you? No, it wasn't random. We noticed this dodgy man following you earlier, which is why we asked you for that drink. He joined us in the bar, and I think he's the one that offered you his number. Is your David coming anytime soon?"

Clara rested her hand on the woman's upper arm, and Erin shrugged, pressing the up button on the elevator. "He's working on a particularly brutal case. I had to take some time away from it, the deaths were too much to handle." The Doctor nodded as he ushered them onto the elevator. "I suppose that I could text him. What did this man look like?"

"Evil." It was the only word that Clara could come with that properly suited the man. "Brown hair, sort of heavy, looked very official, like he was a copper or something."

"I wonder," Erin murmured as she fished out her cellphone, quickly tapping out a message. It didn't take long to get a reply, and she relaxed in visible relief. "He'll be to my room in about twenty minutes. Would you be able to stay with me until he arrives?"

"Of course, Erin. That's what we're good at." The Doctor smiled warmly at her as he adjusted his bow tie. "Does your David wear a bow tie? Bow ties are cool, you know."

This caused Erin to giggle a little as she shook her head. "He rarely even wears a tie. He thinks it constricts him. But, I suppose I might talk him into one, in your honor, of course."

The elevator doors opened on her floor and she made her way out. Clara noticed that she tried to walk with confidence, but there was a bit of apprehension there, too. That was one thing about travelling with the Doctor, she had learned to read body language that much better, since it had saved their skin a time or two. "How did you manage a room with a view like this?" she said lowly as they stepped into the corner room.

"One of the perks of being a Section Chief in the FBI. I can ask for the best rooms." She collapsed on the bed and shrugged off her grey jacket, bringing her knee up to her chest to rest her chin on it. "I missed this. There is something to being out on the field, the adrenaline rush of questioning an unsub. And I've been around such wonderful friends."

Sighing, she smiled up at Clara and the Doctor. "Friends are the best thing." There was a wistfulness to his voice that tugged at Clara's heart and she smiled sadly as she sat next to Erin. A commotion outside the window caused them all to turn, and Erin gasped, clutching at Clara's arm.

"J-john?" she stammered out as the man who had been stalking her all night broke open the window and came inside. In his hand was a gun, and Clara shrank into Erin. She knew that the Doctor hated guns, and sure enough, he was reaching for his sonic screwdriver. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm taking care of the problem that should have been dealt with years ago. Your friends will leave us alone now." He waved the gun toward the Doctor. "I am willing to be benevolent and allow them to leave."

The Doctor shook his head, aiming the screwdriver at him. "No, I think that you will leave Erin alone." The man, John, laughed at him, and began to pull the trigger. The Doctor was quicker, though, stunning the man with a bright blue bolt of light.

Erin's arm tightened around Clara as she watched John fall to the ground, writhing in pain. "What is that? Who are you, really?"

The fear in her voice upset Clara, and she pulled away, glaring at her. "The Doctor just saved your life. You could show a little gratitude."

Erin wrinkled her brow, shaking her head. "There's gratitude, and then there's wondering if I stepped from the frying pan and into the fire." Her eyes had taken on a wild look, and she scooted as far away from them as she could.

"Erin, I came to help you. We stopped him, corrected an error in the world, and you are now going to live out the rest of your life. You're welcome."

Someone knocked on her door, and Erin got up and went to the door, her eyes never leaving them. "Who is it?"

"Dave. Open up." Erin finally turned away from them as she unlocked the door, and the Doctor motioned towards the window with his head. Clara nodded and quickly got up, scurrying over and out the window, making her way down. The Doctor was hot on her heels, and she heard the unspoken command of run, knowing that they could end up in a world of hurt if caught anywhere near the scene.

Finally, they were back at the TARDIS, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "That did not go quite as planned, huh?" The Doctor shook his head and they stepped inside. "Is the time stream restored?"

"Just give me one moment." He went over to the controls and quickly looked things over. "Yes, it looks like the crisis was averted. Now off to our next adventure. Geronimo!" Clara smiled slightly as she shook her head, picking up her book and losing herself once more.

"Hopefully the next people we rescue are a little more thankful."

"She almost died. It would be all right to go easy on her."

"I suppose so." Settling back in her chair, she let the TARDIS get under way once more, still hoping that the next adventure would be better than this one was. Really, she was the impossible girl, and she did not want to share that moniker with anyone, especially not some ungrateful snip of a woman.

"Ooh, Clara, look! I delved into her timeline further. Forty weeks from tonight, their time, Erin and that David fellow have a little girl. And guess what they name her?"

"What?"

"Clara. I don't think that's a coincidence, do you?" She tried not to smile widely at the homage, burying her face in her book in an attempt to ignore his goofy grin. "That's really sweet, you know. I would consider it our thank you."

"Fine, whatever," she muttered, turning the page. Still, some small part of her brain couldn't help but wonder how her namesake's life had turned out. There was no point in checking with their blasted conveyance, it hated her with a passion still, but still, she couldn't help but to begin a daydream a life for the little girl. She only hoped that she was as impossible as herself.


End file.
